


Fall Apart, Fall Together

by Greeneyesblue



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), NCIS
Genre: Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, References to Addiction, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-09-07 16:33:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20312605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Greeneyesblue/pseuds/Greeneyesblue
Summary: Tony calls on a friend when he feels like he’s falling apart. The journey that follows is one that puts him together in ways he never expected.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DarkJediQueen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkJediQueen/gifts).

> Thanks to DarkJediQueen for the very inspiring art and to the Every Fandom Bang mods for organizing such a fun event!

Tony sighed and lifted his head from where he’d had it resting on his steering wheel. He looked once more at the lights of the bar he was parked outside of before pulling out his phone. He quickly scrolled through the contacts and hit send as soon as he found the person he most needed to hear from right now. He listened to it ring, not taking his eyes off the building in front of him.

“Hey, Tony.”

“Spencer. Hey,” Tony breathed a sigh of relief when the other man picked up. Considering what they both did for a living, being available wasn’t always a guarantee but they tried.

“What’s up? You okay?” Spencer asked after a beat of silence passed.

“I’m parked outside a sports bar in Arlington,” Tony forced himself to say.

“Okay.” Spencer paused and then Tony could hear some faint shuffling as if Spencer had moved to a different room. He realized the background noise before had been clinking silverware on dishes and that he’d probably interrupted dinner.

Spencer continued. “Why are you parked outside a bar, Tony?”

“Because I want to go in there and have some whiskey,” Tony admitted.

“I don’t think you really want to do that. Did something happen? Do you want to talk?”

Tony sighed and let his head fall back against the headrest while he closed his eyes. “I don’t want to interrupt your evening. I’m fine.”

“You can be honest with me, Tony. That’s why we started this thing, right? Keep each other accountable?” Spencer encouraged.

“I’m just interrupting your life with my pity party. Really, Spence. Thanks, but don’t worry about it.”

“I’m calling bullshit, Tony. Turn on your car and drive down here right now,” Spencer countered. “You’re forgetting who you’re talking to. I know what you’re feeling right now, and I know how this ends if you don’t get out of your own head. Come on over and we can talk, or not talk, whatever you want.”

Tony was quiet for a few moments. He’d started a journey of sobriety a couple years back after another awkward encounter with his father. He’d walked away vowing not to become dependent, either for self-medicating like his mother, or as part of some social class façade like his father. As much as Tony didn’t want to burden anyone else with the mess that his life was right now, his desire to stay clear of the dark spiral looming before him won out.

“I’ll be there in about 45,” Tony finally said quietly.

“Thank you, Tony. We’ll be expecting you. I’ll call back if you’re not here in an hour,” Spencer replied.

“Bye, Spence,” Tony said before hanging up.

He turned his key in the ignition and felt some pressure ease off his chest as he turned out of the parking lot. At least he hadn’t messed this up too. He turned onto the highway and headed south toward Eagle Point.

Tony spent most of the drive turning over the events of the past few days in his head. It wasn’t helping to resolve anything, but he couldn’t stop thinking about it regardless. It did, however, make the drive go by quickly.

Dr. Spencer Reid, FBI agent in the Behavioral Analysis Unit, and Tony had met a couple years ago at a Beltway Clean Cops meeting. Tony had honestly been intrigued by the guy that didn’t seem to fit the law enforcement stereotype, and he’d introduced himself to Spencer on their way out. They’d ended up striking up a sort of acquaintance over the course of a few meetings, and eventually started a friendship outside of the group. They grabbed lunch or coffee on occasion when Spencer was in the district for work.

Tony had answered the phone one night when Spencer was out of town on a tough case. They’d talked and Spencer had admitted he really wanted to use. After that, they made a sort of informal accountability pact between them. Spencer seemed to need encouragement from Tony less and less when he’d started a relationship with his unit chief, Aaron Hotchner. They’d bought a house together a year prior, and that’s where Tony was headed now.

Tony pulled into the driveway of a quaint suburban house on a quiet street. He sat for a moment after he turned off the engine collecting himself. Just talking with Spencer on the phone had helped, but he couldn’t deny that being around friends, real friends, for a while would feel even better. The only problem was that these friends were profilers by trade, and Tony knew he wouldn’t be able to hide anything from them in his current emotional state.

Sighing to himself, Tony got out of his car and headed to the front door. He knew this was what he needed right now, even if it wasn’t exactly what he wanted. Before he could ring the doorbell, the door was opening.

“I was watching for you. Aaron is putting Jack to bed, so I didn’t want the doorbell to disrupt them,” Spencer said softly as he stepped back to let Tony inside.

“I’m sorry for interrupting your night. I can head out if it’s too much trouble,” Tony apologized.

Spencer shook his head. “No. Honestly, don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t have invited you if it was a problem.”

Spencer started to lead him further into the house, before turning back. “Did you have dinner?”

“No,” Tony said a little sheepishly.

Spencer turned to walk toward the kitchen then. “Want me to heat you up a plate? We have lots of leftovers.”

“That would be nice, actually. I’m realizing I'm really hungry all of a sudden,” Tony admitted.

Spencer gave Tony a kind smile as he opened the fridge. “I figured if you were this turned around over something, you wouldn’t be prioritizing basic necessities.”

Tony made a noise of agreement and sat himself on a stool at the kitchen island while Spencer made him a plate and stuck it in the microwave. He turned and leaned back against the counter with arms crossed.

“Was it work related?” Spencer started.

Tony gave a bitter laugh. “When is it not in our line of work?”

Spencer just shrugged. “Look, I won’t force you to talk about it but, for the record, I think you should.”

Tony nodded. Thankfully the beeping of the microwave saved him from coming up with something else to say just then. The food was simple and good. Meat and potatoes. The home-cooked meal was comforting and immediately made Tony feel better.

Spencer let him eat in silence for a few minutes while he moved around the kitchen, putting away a few stray dishes. Tony braced himself for the full inquisition when Spencer finally got himself a glass of water and sat on the stool next to him.

“Relax, I said I wouldn’t make you talk.”

“And yet, now I feel like I have to,” Tony said, giving Spencer a playful sideways look. “What is this strange power you hold over me?”

Spencer just smirked back at him, but then his expression turned serious. “It has to be something big if it’s pushed you this far, Tony. You’re normally the kind of guy that rolls with the punches and adapts pretty easily.”

Tony let out a long breath as he thought about what he wanted to tell his friend. He pushed away his empty plate before he spoke.

“We had a case come up a couple days ago. Domestic terrorist group we believed might be operating in a specific neighborhood. I went out posing as someone looking to buy a house there and recorded voice prints of all the residents to match to a recorded message we had.”

Tony paused and rubbed his hands over his face. Maybe he was overthinking this. Maybe it wasn’t a big deal and he should just move on.

“Is that why your voice is a little hoarse? Are you okay?” Spencer interrupted his thoughts.

“What? Oh, yeah. I was out there for a few hours. It’s fine, just still a little irritated.”

Spencer raised his eyebrows and looked at Tony expectantly.

Tony rolled his eyes before replying. “Yes, I had a Ducky take a look at it. It’s really fine.”

“Okay,” Spencer acquiesced, “I just want to make sure you’re taking care of yourself.”

Tony nodded. When he didn’t immediately start talking again, Spencer prodded him.

“So what happened with the case?”

“I was out there wired up for recording, and McGee and Ziva were listening in a car a couple blocks away.” Tony huffed and pushed up from the stool. Spencer turned to watch him when he started pacing.

“They turned the volume down all the way,” Tony continued roughly. “Said they didn’t want to hear me anymore. They were my backup. We knew one of the messages from the terrorist cell originated there, and they decided it wasn’t worth their time. But then we were rushing to figure it all out before anyone else got hurt. When the case was over, I detailed their breach of protocol in my report.”

Tony stopped then, slightly out of breath from the way he had forced the story out so quickly.

“How did Gibbs take the report?” Spencer questioned softly.

Tony let out a bitter laugh and ran his hands through his hair leaving it standing on end.

“He laughed at me. They all did. It was some big joke to them. Don’t worry about safety or protocol, it’s Tony. He’ll laugh it off. That’s all I'm good for though, right? A laugh and a fuck? That’s all Gibbs has ever used me for anyway.”

When he had finished his rant, it was like Tony’s strings were cut. He hung his head and let out a shaky breath. He was so tired.

Tony continued quietly. “I don’t know what I’m doing anymore, Spence. I don’t know if I can trust them. I don’t know if I can go back to work tomorrow like nothing happened. All I want to do right now is drown in a bottle and then pretend it’s all fine, but when does it stop? When do I stop moving the line I'm willing to cross for them?”

Tony had been staring at the floor, so he was surprised when he felt Spencer put an arm around his shoulders. He leaned into the sideways embrace and shuddered as the emotions that had been building the past few days threatened to undo him. The contact was nice though. It was friendly and comforting and just what Tony needed right then so he wouldn’t fall completely apart.

Tony heard footsteps on the stairs then, and straightened and stepped away, clearing his throat and shoring himself up again. Aaron came into the kitchen and patted Tony on the shoulder in greeting as walked past.

“Hey, Tony.”

“Hey, man. Sorry to disrupt your evening.”

Aaron waved him off as he walked to stand next to Spencer and placed and arm around him. Their easy affection was something Tony was both intrigued by and jealous of. Spencer had always seemed quite averse to contact with people, but he was exactly the opposite with Aaron. Tony had only met Jack once before, but Spencer had been free with the physical affection with him as well. The contrast to his own life made the hurt Tony had been feeling all the more acute.

“Don’t worry about it,” Aaron replied. “You’re always welcome anytime.”

“You guys want to watch a movie?” Spencer asked.

Tony smiled a little. For someone that didn’t always conform to the social graces of others, Spencer was quite thoughtful. Tony wasn’t surprised in the least that he would suggest something to make Tony more comfortable. His love of movies and movie trivia had come out early in their acquaintance, and Tony loved that Spencer could trade quotes and trivia with him. Tony gathered that Spencer’s actual taste was more with sci-fi, but his memory allowed for a range of knowledge across genres.

“That sounds good,” Tony agreed.

“Actually,” Aaron said, “I wanted to get caught up on emails. I’ll just be in my office.”

Aaron headed out of the kitchen and down the short hall to the room they had set up as an office and library. Spencer led Tony to the living room.

“I just got Avatar, do you want to watch that?”

“I can’t promise I have the energy to watch the whole thing, but I haven’t seen it since it was in theaters, so that sounds great,” Tony replied.

Spencer went about getting the movie set up while Tony made himself comfortable on their large couch. When the movie started, Tony quickly relaxed and let it distract him from his current worries. In fact, he became so relaxed that he hadn’t realized he’d dozed off until the lack of TV noise woke him.

“Oh, sorry,” he said while scrubbing a hand over his face. “You don’t have to turn it off on my account.”

“I’m pretty tired myself,” Spencer confessed.

Tony cleared his throat and sat up. “Sorry, I should get out of your way. You guys probably want to get to bed or something.”

“Don’t worry about it, Tony. Really. In fact, you should stay over. You don’t want to have to drive all the way back to the city at this hour.”

Tony smiled in thanks, but persisted. “I really don’t want to impose.”

Just then Aaron appeared in the doorway.

“We have a comfortable guest room with your name on it, Tony,” he offered.

Tony couldn’t deny that going back to his empty apartment would feel pretty lonely after spending such a nice evening with friends.

“If it’s really okay, I’d appreciate not having to make the drive tonight,” he finally agreed.

“Will you be okay to make it to work tomorrow from here?” Aaron asked.

Tony frowned. “Sure.”

Spencer cleared his throat and Aaron raised his eyebrows.

Aaron was the first to break the moment of tension. “Everything okay at work?”

Tony huffed and sat back against the couch, leaning his head back so he was looking up at the ceiling.

“Oh, you know,” he said with an air of bitterness. “Just the usual office drama. Team leaves me in the field without backup and boss laughs in my face when I point it out. No big deal.”

Aaron walked over to sit next to Spencer on the loveseat across from the couch.

Aaron’s voice was firm but calm. “That sounds like a big deal, Tony.”

Tony waved a hand aimlessly in the air before letting it drop at his side. “It’s really just par for the course. They’re right, I probably wouldn’t want to deal with me either.”

“Tony, what they did was wrong no matter who was on the other end of that radio. No one deserves to be left in an unsafe situation like that,” Spencer countered.

Tony didn’t really know what to say to that, so he just sat there.

“Tony, something you said earlier made me wonder... I know it’s none of my business, but are you and Gibbs together?” Spencer asked somewhat hesitantly.

Tony snorted. “Together isn’t really the word I would use for it. Fuck buddies might be a nice way of putting it. Really it’s more like I'm his convenient booty call when he’s in the mood.”

“You never mentioned you were involved before,” Spencer observed.

“Yeah, well, I never wanted to admit I was in love with someone that didn’t love me back. I didn’t want you to know what I did for any scrap of attention from him I could get. I didn’t want it to be a reason to lose your respect, I guess.”

“Tony,” Spencer started, but trailed off.

It was rare he was at a loss for words. That and the pity in Spencer’s voice made Tony feel like his concerns were valid. He was more of a mess than Spencer and Aaron had known, and now it was all coming out.

Aaron finally broke the silence. “You have nothing to be ashamed of, Tony.”

Tony didn’t know what to say, so he just remained still.

“He’s right, you know. You’ve done nothing wrong here,” Spencer agreed, “in any of it.”

He sighed and sat up, but just looked his hands clasped in his lap. Tony didn’t really know what he was supposed to do next, right now or tomorrow or next week. He was just so tired of fighting for scraps in every part of his life.

“Why don’t you take tomorrow off of work?” Aaron proposed. “You don’t have an active case. Call in sick if you need to. Give yourself a long weekend.”

That had Tony looking at them with a small smile. “Aren’t you supposed to me telling me the opposite SSA Hotchner? You’re the boss, after all.”

Aaron shrugged and smiled kindly. “I’m not your boss. Taking care of yourself is important too.”

“Yeah, I'll think about it,” Tony agreed.

“Good,” Aaron praised. “Okay, I’m going to head to bed. Tony, please make yourself at home.”

Spencer stood when Aaron did and looked at Tony. “Do you have a go-bag in your car?”

Tony nodded. “Yeah, I can grab it.”

Spencer waited at the front door for him while he grabbed his bag from his car and made sure it was locked up. He then led Tony upstairs to the guest room.

“Try to get some sleep, okay?”

Tony nodded. “I’ll try. I don’t know if I will, but I'll try.”

“Goodnight, Tony,” Spencer said before he walked to the end of the short hall to enter the master bedroom.

“Night,” Tony said in response.

The bed in the guest room looked comfortable. After changing into some sweats he found in his bag and using the restroom, Tony settled into it. He was surprised that almost immediately his eyes felt heavy. For the first time in a while he thought he might actually get some good rest.

\- - - - -

Tony woke feeling surprisingly refreshed. Other than the fact that his life and career were on the verge of disaster, he felt pretty good. He snorted to himself at the thought. Yeah, he was still barely holding it together, but the sleep did help.

The smell of coffee coaxed Tony downstairs. He found Spencer in the kitchen reading a book while eating cereal.

“Morning. Want some breakfast?” Spencer greeted him.

“Yeah, sure,” Tony said as he grabbed the box of cereal and poured some into one of the bowls that had been set out.

As he settled in to eat, Spencer got up and poured Tony a mug of coffee from the pot. Before he could deliver it, Aaron came in the back door and walked into the kitchen clearly having just finished a run.

“Morning, Tony,” he greeted. “Morning, Spence.”

Tony looked down at his cereal as Aaron leaned in to brush a quick kiss over Spencer’s cheek before pouring himself coffee.

“So, what are you going to do with your day off?” Spencer asked as he slid Tony’s coffee to him.

Tony poked his spoon into his cereal a few times before answering. “I’m not really sure. I should probably clean my apartment or something.”

“Maybe do something fun to take your mind off things. Go to a movie, go hiking, do whatever you feel like,” Spencer suggested.

Tony just shrugged. He supposed he did deserve to give himself a bit of a break.

“A change of pace might help to clear your head a bit and process some decisions,” Aaron agreed.

Aaron finished his coffee and set his mug in the sink. “Okay, I’m going to go drag Jack out of bed. Tony, I have to say that knowing what I do of the situation, I may feel compelled to report it. I don’t know that I can overlook a breach of protocol in another federal agency now that I have knowledge of it.”

Tony looked up from his cereal with wide eyes. He wasn’t sure what he wanted, but making big waves wasn’t his intention.

“I don’t think you need to do that,” Tony said. “I’ll get over it, eventually.”

Aaron’s expression turned sympathetic, and Tony resented the pity just a little.

“Will you?” Aaron asked. “Will you really be able to go into the field with either of them again? With anyone?”

When Tony didn’t answer, Spencer added a question of his own. “Will you be able to go back to Gibbs after how he dismissed this?”

“Fuck you both for not pulling any punches,” Tony groused before sitting back and letting out a long sigh. “You’re not wrong though.”

“Look, I know I’m probably overstepping a bit, but we both care about you and I have the connections to make sure this doesn’t get swept under a rug. It won’t come from you, so you don’t have to feel any guilt over it,” Aaron explained.

Tony hesitated. He knew his head was sort of messed up about the whole thing between his dysfunctional relationships with pretty much everyone on the team and his own issues and insecurities. Maybe letting someone else handle this was the break he was looking for.

“Yeah,” Tony finally said, “do what you feel you need to.”

“Thanks, Tony,” Aaron replied, nodding his head in confirmation.

“Hey,” Spencer broke in, “why don’t you come back here for supper? I think we’ll be able to get off work in time and we can get pizza or something. Jack loves pizza night.”

Tony took a deep breath and smiled. “Yeah, that sounds nice. Thanks.”

“You’re smart. You’ll figure this mess out,” Spencer said as he came around the island and gave Tony’s shoulder a squeeze.

“Thanks, Spence. I really appreciate you guys.”

Maybe things weren’t as bleak as they had seemed last night. Tony had friends on his side, and that counted for a lot.


	2. Chapter 2

Tony got out of the car and walked up to the building, whistling as he went. It was one of those rare early spring days when the sun was shining and it was just warm enough to remind him of the summer heat that was coming.

When Tony reached the correct door he heard a voice shout his name before he was being tackled around the legs by a small body.

“Jack-Jack! Hey, buddy!”

“Hey, Mr. Tony! Where’s my dad and Spencer?” Jack asked, looking up at Tony from where he still had his arms wrapped around his legs.

Tony slowly started to untangle them as he replied. “They had to work a little late today, so they asked me to come pick you up. Is that okay?”

Jack nodded vigorously. “Yes! Can we go get ice cream?”

Tony laughed. One time he’d taken the kid for ice cream, and now he thought he could get that out of Tony all the time.

“It’s a little close to dinner time for that. Tell you what, I’ll let you help me decide what we get for supper, okay?”

“Okay,” came Jack’s enthusiastic reply.

While they’d been talking, Jack’s preschool teacher had approached. Tony had been authorized to pick up Jack for a couple months now, and he’d already done it a couple times, so she was familiar with who he was.

“Bye, Miss Swan!” Jack said with a wave.

“Bye, Jack,” she chuckled and looked to Tony. “He had a great day. I’m sure he’ll tell you all about it.”

Tony laughed. “Oh, I have no doubt. Have a nice weekend.”

“You too,” Miss Swan said as she turned to walk back into the classroom where a few other kids were still playing while they waited for their parents.

“Ready?” Tony asked Jack.

“Yes!” Jack yelled as he skipped down the hallway ahead of Tony with his backpack bouncing on his back.

Tony just laughed and followed behind. Once they were on the road, Tony asked Jack what he’d like to do for dinner.

“Pizza!”

Tony laughed. Jack pretty much always wanted pizza. Tony was in the mood for doing something a little more hands-on than ordering pizza though. His life had changed so much in the last few months, and he thought a little extra time and care in making dinner for Spencer and Aaron were well deserved.

“Have you ever made pizza from scratch, buddy?” Tony asked, looking at Jack briefly in the rearview mirror.

Jack shook his head. “No. Do you know how to make pizza?”

“Yep! You can help me if you’d like. You can put all the toppings on yours however you want. How does that sound?” 

“That sounds cool! Can we really do that, Mr. Tony?” Jack enthusiastically asked.

“You bet! We just need to stop for a few ingredients on our way,” Tony replied.

It didn’t take them long to grab what they needed at the grocery store and make their way home. Tony quickly mixed up the dough and let it rest while they got the toppings ready. He explained what he was doing to Jack as he worked, and enjoyed the fact that the 5-year-old was impressed by even the small things. Jack was amazingly optimistic and resilient and Tony had loved getting to know him over the past few months.

Tony spent a lot of nights in the Hotchner-Reid household guest room these days. After NCIS had come under investigation through channels at the FBI that conveniently didn’t link back to Tony, he’d resigned and left that mess behind. Since then, Tony had been working with the FBI, teaching at the academy and consulting on cases if requested. He hadn’t taken a field position though, and he wasn’t sure when he’d be ready to do that again.

All the time spent commuting to Quantico got old fast, and his friendship with Aaron and Spencer had only grown as he’d started making regular use of their guest room on long days. He’d even taken to watching the house for them when they traveled for cases. Jessica was still Jack’s primary caregiver when Aaron and Spencer were on the road, but Tony had gotten to know him more over the last few months as well. 

Tony had felt honored the first time Aaron and Spencer suggested he pick Jack up from preschool, since he usually got done with work earlier than they did. He knew how much trusting him with Jack meant, and he’d vowed to himself to never let them regret it. Tony had spent a few evenings with Jack now, and he’d been surprised at how much he enjoyed spending time with him. Tony had never really disliked kids, but hadn’t thought of himself as a “kid person” either. He didn’t know if that had really changed, but he did know he was fast becoming Jack’s biggest fan.

“Can I make a smiley face out of pepperoni on mine?” Jack asked, interrupting Tony’s thoughts.

Tony smiled. “Sure, kiddo.”

They were just finishing putting the toppings on their pizzas when Tony heard the garage door open. 

“Sounds like your dad and Spence are home, buddy,” Tony commented.

“I hope they like our pizzas,” Jack said, looking up at Tony.

Tony chuckled. “I have no doubt they will.”

Just then, Aaron and Spencer walked in from the garage, Spencer seemingly mid-lecture about the history of the cul de sac in city planning. Tony found it fun when Spencer got to talking about whatever tangent crossed his mind.

“It was the false sense of safety that first drew people to design cul de sacs, but statistically they are more dangerous for pedestrians and bikers.”

“And yet, you live in one,” Tony interrupted dryly. 

Spencer huffed. “Yes, well, the house is nice and I’m aware of the risks and how to mitigate them.”

Tony smiled as Aaron walked over to where he and Jack were putting the finishing touches on the pizza toppings. Tony got a quick one-armed hug in greeting before Aaron did the same to Jack. The physical affection Tony had once observed between the family had begun to be extended to him over time, and the initial surprise had since worn off.

“Thanks for picking Jack up today.”

“No problem. We’ve had fun, right buddy?” Tony directed his question to Jack.

“We made pizza! Look, mine is smiling!”

Spencer chuckled as he joined them in inspecting the pizzas. He brushed up against Tony as he leaned over to look at Jack’s, and Tony smiled at the contact. He appreciated that Spencer was comfortable in his personal space. It was the little things in these moments that made him feel like he had real friendships and maybe even chosen family here.

“That looks amazing, Jack!” Spencer said enthusiastically.

“I bet it will taste even better,” Tony praised. “Let’s get them in the oven.”

The four of them enjoyed a fun and relaxed dinner. Spencer made sure to tell them that he thought Tony and Jack’s pizza was objectively the best compared to the three other local establishments they ordered from based on crust texture and topping quality. Jack preened at the compliment.

All the adults pitched in to clean up, while Jack ran off to play. While they were putting away the leftovers, Aaron made a suggestion.

“It’s a nice night. Should we take Jack to the park? Maybe get ice cream after?”

“That sounds fun,” Tony agreed.

They finished quickly, and it didn’t take any convincing to get Jack out the door. There was a nice park in town with a playground and an ice cream shop just a couple blocks walk from there. They grabbed jackets and piled in Aaron’s SUV. Before too long, they arrived and Jack jumped out of the vehicle as soon as they’d parked.

The three men laughed a little at Jack’s enthusiasm as they followed more sedately toward the playground. As they walked, Aaron slung and arm over Tony’s shoulder and fell into step with him.

“Thanks for giving Jack so much time and attention today. He really likes you.”

Tony smiled at Aaron. “He’s a great kid. I really like spending time with him. It’s funny that we get to adulthood and forget about all the simple things we thought were so interesting and amazing as kids. And his hugs are the best.”

“Dad! Watch me!” Jack called as he started across the monkey bars.

Aaron stepped away from Tony and jogged over to where Jack was. Tony stopped at a bench on the edge of the playground and sat down. Spencer came and sat beside him, their knees and shoulders brushing. They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching Jack and Aaron play. 

Tony didn’t mind the quiet moment, because he was busy turning over recent events in his mind. He realized he’d been feeling different about both Spencer and Aaron lately. What started as a close, almost familial friendship, was turning into something more for him. 

Tony had been attracted to Spencer when they first met, but let that feeling go when he learned he was taken. He’d gotten to know Aaron later in their friendship and found him attractive in completely different ways. Spending so much time with both of them made Tony jealous of the easy relationship they seemed to have. He knew they had bumps in the road, but they seemed to be deliberate about communicating with each other which went a long way to resolving anything that came between them.

But that was just it. Spencer and Aaron were together, and Tony wasn’t a part of that. That’s what the logical part of Tony’s brain said anyway. The emotional part of his brain kept latching onto the fact that there might be other signals Aaron and Spencer were giving him. Take, for instance, the way Spencer had settled leaning into his side. Tony knew Spencer to be the kind of person that avoided physical contact with strangers, tolerated it from friends, and only initiated it with people he really trusted and was close to.

There were other things too. Like the fact that they all found themselves doing something together at least once a week when Aaron and Spencer weren’t out of town on a case. It was more than just Tony crashing at their place once in a while. It was nice meals and outings, mostly with Jack, but a few without. Sometimes he’d do something with just one or the other of them if one was busy with work. Tony was the kind of person to be content with watching a movie at home, so this was definitely more than he would expect from friends.

“Wait a minute,” Tony interrupted their silence as his thoughts began to coalesce into a bigger picture. “Why does it always feel like a date when I’m with either of you lately?”

Spencer smiled at him. “You’re just figuring that out?”

Tony sputtered indignantly. “What? You guys are running this secret campaign and I'm just supposed to figure it out?”

Spencer chuckled and straightened up to look at Tony. “I mean, you’re a smart guy. We thought you’d figure it out and talk about it when you were ready.”

“Seriously, Spencer. This was intentional on both your parts?” Tony asked, genuinely surprised and confused. “Have you talked about it?”

Spencer nodded. “Between our profession and my issues with addiction, we don’t have secrets between us. We can’t afford it. We talk a lot, and we talk about the real and sometimes messy stuff too.”

“Like about who you’re attracted to?” Tony asked.

“In this case, yes,” Spencer replied with a shrug. 

Tony didn’t really know what to do with that. He felt like he’d just been given a gift he didn’t think would ever be something available to him, and he wasn’t sure if he should accept that it was.

Spencer continued the conversation after a moment. “We actually talked about this a while ago, but both agreed not to act on it until the timing was better.”

Tony frowned. He didn’t want them to think he was fragile and couldn’t make that decision for himself. It was probably a good thing though. Tony jumping into bed with them immediately after both his personal and professional life blew up, probably wouldn't have ended well.

“I should probably be telling you both how arrogant it is to make that decision for me, but I’m actually relieved because I probably would have chosen a more self-destructive path,” Tony admitted.

Spencer furrowed his brows. “I actually hadn’t thought of it that way, and for that I'm sorry. I don’t want to speak for Aaron, but I believe we both had good intentions.”

Tony let out a sigh and watched as Aaron chased Jack around the playset in some sort of game of tag.

“I know you did. Both of you,” he said after a moment. “I don’t know what to do now though.”

Spencer shrugged. “Whatever you want. Just know that it’s something we’re interested in, and we can talk about it when you’re ready. You didn’t talk about your relationship with Gibbs much, but it can’t have been easy to have it end at the same time as everything else. We didn’t want to push.”

Tony was quiet a moment as he processed.

“I always loved him a little bit, you know?” Tony admitted. “Even though I knew it would never... I knew he didn’t... It was stupid.”

“I was always a little jealous you were so loyal to him. You’re very focused in your attention to people and things you care about, and I always wondered what it would be like to have your focus. I find it quite attractive,” Spencer returned.

“That’s...” Tony struggled to articulate how that made him feel. He finally settled on, “That’s very flattering.”

Spencer just smiled and relaxed back on the bench again. They returned to sitting in silence for a few moments before Jack ran over to them, Aaron trailing just behind.

“Can we go get ice cream now?” Jack asked.

Spencer chuckled and turned to Tony. “What do you think? Can we buy you ice cream?”

That question seemed to hold so much more meaning than it would have just a few minutes ago. Now that Tony was viewing everything Spencer and Aaron did from this new perspective, he felt a little bit of pressure. Pressure to do what exactly, he wasn’t sure. 

Tony put on his best smile and shrugged. “Sure, I could go for some frozen sugary goodness.”

They all began walking the couple of blocks to the local ice cream shop, Jack skipping ahead a few paces dragging Spencer along with him. Aaron walked in step with Tony, and nudged him with his shoulder when the silence had gone on between them for a bit too long.

“You okay?”

Tony sighed. “I feel like you guys think I’m fragile or something.”

Aaron slowed his pace slightly and Tony reluctantly matched him. 

“You figured us out?”

Tony nodded.

“I’m sorry we weren’t forthright about it from the beginning. We wanted to give you time.”

When Tony didn’t immediately respond, Aaron continued.

“We didn’t want to pressure you, but wanted to leave that door open in case you wanted to step through it,” he explained.

Tony huffed. “Yeah. I get it. I was a mess there for a while. I just wish you’d decided to fill me in on this little scheme of yours sooner. I can’t say I wouldn’t have made some bad decisions a few months ago, but at least I would have been in control of something. For a while there it felt like my whole life was in flux and I was just along for the ride.”

Aaron stopped and gently grabbed Tony’s arm, turning them to face each other. 

“Tony, I’m genuinely sorry we didn’t consider how our decisions about changing our relationship with you would make you feel. To be honest, I didn’t really think through the ramifications, and I'm a little disappointed in myself for that,” Aaron said, looking at Tony very intently.

Tony met his eyes and saw the sincerity there. He was finding it very hard to be mad at either of these men. He moved his arm so Aaron’s hand slid down, and he threaded their fingers together.

“I’m not entirely upset about this development. I do have a question though.”

Aaron gave Tony’s hand a squeeze and raised his eyebrows expectantly.

“Is this how our relationship would go if I joined you? You two deciding what’s best for me? Because I don’t think I could do that.”

Aaron shook his head. “No. I don’t want to be dismissive of what’s happened between us, but I don’t think you’d let us get away with it again even if we repeated the misstep. All three of us have a mind for reading people, and we’re going to do that to each other to some degree, but we’ll be doing it on equal footing.”

Tony smiled. “You seem to think this will all just work out so easily?”

Aaron laughed. “Not in the least. Relationships are messy, but if you decide to join us, I’ll be dating two of the smartest and most dedicated men I know. I know we’ll make it work.”

“Wow,” Tony said before releasing Aaron’s hand and turning to walk toward the ice cream shop once again. “Your confidence in all this is pretty appealing and damn sexy.”

Aaron jogged the couple of steps to catch up from where Tony left him standing with mouth open in surprise.

“So, we’re doing this?” Aaron asked once he fell into step once again.

Tony smiled at him and nodded. “Yeah. We’ll probably need to talk details a hell of a lot more in the near future, but I’d really like to give this a real try with both of you.”

As they caught up to Spencer and Jack, the boy called out to them. “Come on! We’ve been waiting forever!”

“Sorry, buddy!” Tony called back. When they reached the two, Tony opened the door and held it as Jack rushed inside to look over all the flavors. He looked back in time to catch Aaron giving Spencer a brief hug and whispering in his ear. The blinding smile Spencer directed Tony’s way left no doubt what Aaron had told him.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony stepped through the door with a sigh of relief. He’d been teaching a late class at the end of a long day, and was feeling quite grateful to not have to drive all the way back to his condo in DC. To make matters even better, it was Friday, and he had the whole weekend ahead of him to be away from work.

He could hear soft guitar music coming from the living room, so he took off his shoes, set down his bag and made his way there. Tony stopped in the doorway and took in the scene. Aaron was softly playing his guitar and Spencer was curled up in a chair nearby reading a book. The whole thing was giving Tony all sorts of feelings.

They’d been sort of dancing around the idea of the three of them starting a relationship for a couple weeks now. The night they’d gotten ice cream with Jack had been great, and Tony had agreed he was on board for more of those kinds of nights. Then work had gotten busy for all of them, and Jack had been keeping Aaron and Spencer on their toes, and none of them had really moved any further toward that end.

Tony let his eyes trace the relaxed lines of Spencer’s lithe body. Spencer noticed him first, and looked up with a welcoming smile before going back to his book. Tony then turned to watch Aaron’s fingers deftly move over the strings of the instrument as he changed chords. When he finished the song, Aaron looked up at him.

“Hey, Tony,” Aaron greeted with a smile.

“Hey, yourself,” Tony said with a flirtatious smirk. “I know it’s some cheesy college house party cliché, but the guitar playing really makes me want to give you head.”

Aaron set the guitar aside and stood, walking toward Tony with intent. Tony watched him cross the room, admiring his easy confidence. He didn’t stop until he was in Tony’s space. Close enough to touch, but not actually doing so. Yet.

“Is that what you want, Tony? Are you saying you want this with us?” Aaron asked softly.

Tony met Aaron’s steady gaze for a moment, before turning to look at Spencer. Spencer had closed his book and was watching them expectantly. They were both waiting for Tony’s answer. The three of them were on the precipice of something more between them. Tony looked back at Aaron and realized in that moment that, whether it was a conscious choice or not, he had already fallen off that edge and was fully invested, mind and heart, in these men.

Tony cleared his throat. “Yeah. Yeah, I want to be with you both.”

“Good. We were hoping you’d say that,” Aaron said before leaning in for a kiss that was immediately hot and intense. Tony let out a soft moan as they opened to each other and tongues and teeth came into play.

Tony’s hands came up to grip the back of Aaron’s shirt, and Aaron’s hands came to rest on either side of his neck, thumbs caressing the line of his jaw. He lost all frame of reference to time as they continued kissing. His attention was finally pulled away by a gentle hand sliding along the back of his waist.

“You’re both gorgeous together,” Spencer murmured when Tony and Aaron stopped and looked at him.

In that moment, Tony had a little more control over his brain and remembered something. “Jack?”

“Sleepover at Aunt Jessica’s,” Aaron answered succinctly.

With that concern put to rest Tony couldn’t resist leaning in and sharing a kiss with Spencer. He felt so different from Aaron, but the attraction was just as intense. Tony felt movement, and pulled away from the kiss to see Aaron getting down on his knees.

“You’re stealing my move, Hotchner,” Tony quipped.

Aaron smiled. “You can’t just place this shiny new toy in front of me and expect me not to play with it.”

Spencer laughed lightly as he moved to slide behind Tony’s back, resting his head on his shoulder. Tony let out a small gasp as Aaron’s hands reached for his belt and began to open it. He was distracted from watching when Spencer brought a hand up to turn his head into a kiss that flooded his senses with heat and pleasure.

Tony gasped into Spencer’s mouth when he felt Aaron pull his cock out of his boxers. He turned to look down and met Aaron’s heated gaze as he licked Tony’s entire hard length. Spencer’s arms had come around his waist and were holding him comfortably in an embrace. 

As Aaron worked his mouth over him, Tony couldn’t look away. He relished the sensations as he felt the tension start to build in anticipation of release. He watched as Aaron raised his eyes to meet his, and then look past him to meet Spencer’s gaze. The realization that Spencer was watching them, watching Aaron suck his cock, had Tony gasping and grabbing the base of his dick to stop himself from coming too soon.

“Shit,” Tony hissed. “I don’t want to disappoint you guys, but if you keep that up, I'm not going to last.”

“Let’s go upstairs,” Spencer directed.

Aaron stood with impressive grace, considering their disheveled nature. He gently tucked Tony back into his boxers before taking his hand and leading him upstairs. Spencer stayed close behind, and Tony appreciated that he kept contact with touches to his lower back. He’d grown more accustomed to touches of physical affection as his friendship with Aaron and Spencer had grown, but in this context it felt so much more intimate and meaningful.

They made it to the master bedroom quickly, and Tony decided he wanted to get on the huge bed as soon as possible. He started stripping his clothes off quickly and efficiently. As he straightened from where he’d been bent pulling his pants off, he realized Aaron was standing at Spencer’s back, holding him while they both watched Tony.

“What?” Tony asked, as his cheeks colored under the scrutiny.

“We’ve just talked about this with each other for a long time, and I, for one, am enjoying the fact that this is really happening,” Aaron said.

Spencer chuckled. “Sorry, we’ll stop being creepy about it now.”

That broke the tension and Tony laughed a little as Spencer moved toward him and placed his hands on the waistband of Tony’s boxers. He looked up at Tony with an unspoken question in his expression.

“Please,” Tony said quietly.

Spencer helped Tony slide his boxers down, and he stepped out of them after they dropped to his ankles. Both Spencer and Aaron were still clothed. Tony decided that needed to change quickly, so he reached up and began unbuttoning Spencer’s shirt. They kissed as they both worked to get Spencer’s clothes off.

Once they were both naked, Spencer took Tony’s hand and led him to the bed. Tony was pleased to find Aaron waiting there for them, already undressed. Aaron was sitting casually against the headboard, watching Tony and Spencer.

“You two are so hot together,” Aaron observed.

“You make a pretty appealing picture yourself,” Spencer replied as he crawled up the bed and settled into Aaron’s lap.

Tony held back and watched them for a moment, appreciating how they moved together with ease and familiarity. The moment dragged on just long enough for him to realize he was the odd one out here. They’d been doing this together for a long time now, and he was just an interloper in their shared history. Before he could think too hard about it, he defaulted to his patented DiNozzo flirtatious leer.

“Got any more room for me?” he asked suggestively.

Spencer moved off of Aaron and laid back on the other side of the bed. Aaron beckoned to the space between them. Tony moved to lay between them, but before he was even fully settled, Aaron rolled on top of him, effectively pinning Tony’s body to the mattress with his own. Tony’s breath left him in a huff of surprise.

“You don’t have to do that with us. We want you here, and you’ll never be a third wheel or a pity fuck or any of the other ridiculous things you’re thinking right now,” Aaron said seriously. “Yeah, Spence and I have done this together before, but we’ve never done this with you. We’re all experiencing this for the first time together.”

Tony actually felt reassured by Aaron’s words. They didn’t have the same history together, but from this point forward, they’d have a future together. That thought was encouraging enough on its own, but Aaron’s hard cock pressing into his stomach definitely brought home the point. All puns intended, of course.

Before Tony could figure out how to respond, Spencer was crowding into his space, kissing him. With both men so close, Tony lost track of hands and bodies touching as they all kissed and rubbed on each other just enjoying the easy pleasure of it. Tony hadn’t realized how much he’d become immersed in the experience and unaware of his surroundings, until he registered a body shifting and moving away. He turned to see Aaron reaching in the nightstand drawer for supplies.

“How do you want this?” Spencer asked quietly.

That brought Tony up short. Being at a loss for what to do in the bedroom wasn’t something that happened to him. Well, loss wasn’t really the right term. It was more that he had an overwhelming number of options. He was usually taking the lead and being bossy from the top or the bottom. He didn’t want that right now.

“If I’m being honest, I don’t actually know,” Tony finally answered.

Spencer made a humming noise of acknowledgement before leaning in to kiss Tony again. When he pulled away a moment later, he spoke again.

“Can I fuck you?”

Tony groaned. “God, yes. Please.”

They kissed again briefly before Aaron interrupted them.

“Here. Come here,” Aaron directed Tony as he shuffled to lie on his back.

He pulled Tony on top of him. Their similar height meant that when Tony rested most of his weight on Aaron, their cocks came into contact as their groins pressed together. Tony didn’t hold back the moan of pleasure that brought out of him. Aaron’s body was hard and muscled under him and he spread his legs invitingly. Tony’s body was cradled against his in the most delicious way.

Tony smiled down at Aaron and leaned in for a kiss, trying to let his overthinking go and enjoy the moment. It wasn’t difficult with two gorgeous men trying their best to drive him out of his mind with pleasure. When Spencer ran his fingers down Tony’s spine, he turned to look back at him. Tony’s voice was rough with want, but he wanted his desire to be clear.

“Please.”

Spencer held his gaze for a moment as his fingers danced lower and swept over Tony’s entrance. Tony closed his eyes and shuddered at the sensation. Aaron moved under him again and helped Tony rearrange until his legs were spread on either side of Aaron’s. He had a moment of feeling quite exposed before he was swept away once again on the waves of caresses and movements three bodies can make together.

Spencer prepped Tony slowly and he enjoyed the long minutes they spent just moving and stroking together against Aaron, even as it pushed him to want more. He wasn’t so lost though in thrusting back into Spencer’s fingers and forward along Aaron’s cock that he couldn’t respond with an enthusiastic "Yes!” when Spencer asked if he was ready.

Tony stopped to rest his forehead on Aaron’s chest and catch his breath when Spencer pulled his fingers away and moved back to put on a condom. After a moment, Tony braced some weight on his arms and began to move his hips again slowly. Aaron groaned beneath him and pulled Tony in for a kiss that was fast and messy. When Tony felt Spencer’s cock press against his hole, he let out a long moan and pressed back into the contact.

“Fuck, you feel amazing, Tony,” Spencer hissed as he eased into him.

Aaron’s low voice came from below Tony. “I bet he’s hot and tight around you, Spence, huh? Pulling you in just right. Just how you like it.”

Tony shuddered as a surge of sensation ran through him from Aaron’s words. Spencer wasn’t unaffected either and thrust forward seemingly involuntarily. 

“Fuck, yes!” Tony let out as the motion caused his and Aaron’s cocks to rub together deliciously.

With that encouragement, Spencer pulled back and began thrusting in rhythm. The sensations of them all seeking their pleasure together had Tony shaking in anticipation of release. Aaron’s arms came up to wrap around him and Tony pressed against the body beneath him and tucked his face into Aaron’s neck. Spencer’s motions were measured and confident, and it was all Tony could do to hold on and ride it out while panting hot breaths against Aaron.

None of them were particularly quiet, but no intelligible words were spoken for a time. Tony cried out when a sudden change in angle had Spencer hitting that perfect spot inside him. Heat coiled low in his belly, and with another brush of his prostate, Tony was coming hard all over himself and Aaron. Spencer’s thrusts turned erratic, and he cursed as he toppled over the edge into bliss a few moments after Tony.

Spencer held himself up and moved back off of Tony as soon as they’d both finished, pulling out carefully before collapsing to the bed beside them. With more room to maneuver and a few seconds to catch his breath, Tony was able to shift enough to get a hand around his and Aaron’s cocks between them. It was almost too much after his orgasm, but the look of fire in Aaron’s eyes as he stroked over them kept him going. With a twist of his wrist, Aaron was arching and moaning out his pleasure beneath him as his come joined Tony’s mess.

Tony rolled to his side and off of Aaron after he was spent. They all lay catching their breath for a moment before Aaron broke the silence.

“Damn. Well, I think this is going to work out nicely.”

Tony was surprised when Spencer broke into a fit of laughter, but he couldn’t help smiling himself. The sex had definitely been amazing. Before he could wonder what to do next, Spencer got up and grabbed a couple of cloths from the bathroom for cleanup. That taken care of, Tony laid back to enjoy the endorphins and the comfort of having Spencer and Aaron near as they settled in to sleep. 

The other two men eventually settled into bed again, both curling around Tony. He couldn’t help but appreciate the intention with which they both included him. Despite his early moments of doubt, he now felt so at ease with them and where they stood together. Well, at least here in bed with just the three of them. The rest of life would always be messy and complicated, but they had this now.

“You’re both pretty amazing, you know that?” Tony murmured into the quiet darkness of the room. “I care about you both so much.”

Aaron hummed his agreement and gave Tony an affectionate squeeze. Spencer used words, as usual.

“To be honest, it’s not what we planned when Aaron and I got involved, but I think he’d agree that we both came to realize we could be better together.”

Spencer turned his head from where it was lying on Tony’s shoulder to look up at him. “I’ve valued our friendship greatly, but my feelings for you have become much deeper than that and I’m glad we have the opportunity to explore more. I’m grateful Aaron felt similarly.”

Tony felt the vibrations of Aaron’s chuckle at the same time he heard them.

“I love you both, but let’s save more thinking and talking for after sleep,” Aaron said.

Tony took a deep breath as a ball of emotion lodged itself in his throat. His life as he’d known it had fallen apart and been rebuilt in a way he’d never expected in the last several months. He smiled to himself. There was only one big question left to answer.

“So who has to have the ‘three dads’ conversation with Jack tomorrow?”

Spencer snorted a laugh and gently swatted Tony’s chest. “The person that brings it up right after mind-blowing sex, is who.”

Aaron shushed them both, though he was laughing a little himself. They’d figured it all out together later.


End file.
